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Commenting on research published today (Tuesday) by the Institute for Fiscal Studies and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, which shows how the gender pay gap grows year-on-year after childbirth, TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said:

“It is scandalous that millions of women still suffer a motherhood pay penalty,

“Many are forced to leave better-paid jobs due to the pressure of caring responsibilities and the lack of flexible working.

“Without more well-paid, part-time jobs and affordable childcare, the gender pay gap will take decades to close.

“We need to see a step change in government policy and employer attitudes if we are to fix this problem.”

To address the motherhood pay penalty, the TUC wants:

• support for more equal parenting roles to stop women being held back at work – shared parental leave is a start but take up is likely to be low due to lack of incentives for fathers to take the leave
• better paid leave targeted at fathers
• free childcare from the end of maternity leave to help younger mothers with less seniority and lower pay to stay in work after having children 
• more better-paid jobs to be available flexibly (job shares, part-time working, compressed hours), to prevent women getting stuck in low-paid, part-time work after having children
• better enforcement of legislation against discrimination linked to pregnancy and childbirth
• improved access to justice – new mothers should not have to pay £1,200 to challenge pregnancy discrimination at a tribunal and they should be given longer than 3 months to pursue a tribunal claim.  

NOTES TO EDITORS:

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Contacts:

Media enquiries:
Alex Rossiter  T: 020 7467 1285  M: 07887 572130  E: arossiter@tuc.org.uk
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